Chapter 258 I can already imagine you hugging your legs and crying in the future

On the Spurs bench, Popovich was rearranging tactics.

"On the offensive end, Tony, Manu, you have to be more persistent. The Mailman is old, and his help defense speed is not fast. With your speed, you can definitely break through."

"When you break through, you can break through from the top, don't get close to the postman's position, break through from the left and right elbow areas."

"When the outside line breaks through, the inside line should actively position itself in the low post and suppress the Knicks' inside defense in the low post. I don't want to see the Mailman come up and double-team at any time."

"The inside players can also come out to set up pick-and-rolls to create opportunities for outside breakthroughs."

"On the defensive end, we still play a 2-1-2 zone. Tim and Bruce switch positions. Tim is mainly responsible for assisting in the defense under the basket, while Bruce is mainly responsible for defending Nash."

"Bruce, you have to move faster. I don't want to see Nash break into our restricted area and pass the ball to Wolverine after he breaks in."

Soon, the timeout ended and the Spurs attacked.

Popovich's rearranged tactics have improved the Spurs' offensive and defensive quality.

Tony Parker rushed past Nash like a Ferrari and headed for the right elbow.

At this time, Duncan suddenly came up to do a pick-and-roll, blocking Battier, and Parker broke into the restricted area from Duncan.

He Zhongqiu was defending one step in front of the basket. When Parker got close, he suddenly turned around and moved to the left front side of the basket. He immediately adjusted his defensive position.

"boom!"

But at this time Parker passed the ball, Duncan had followed in, and after receiving the ball he made a one-handed dunk. He Zhongqiu turned around, but it was too late.

12:6, Knicks attack.

Nash broke through with the ball and first broke through Parker, but was blocked by Bruce Bowen one step outside the right waist position. Then Duncan came out and completed a three-team with Tony Parker and stole the ball from him.

The Spurs launched a counterattack, Tony Parker scored on a fast break, Nash chased him, but was unable to score and could only watch Parker make a layup.

12:8, the Spurs chased 4 points in a row and the Knicks attacked.

Popovich gestured on the sidelines, asking Tony Parker and Ginobili to play more of these defensive counterattacks.

He saw another weakness of the Knicks, which was their lack of ability to prevent opponents' defensive counterattack tactics.

The key is Nash. Nash is fast enough, but his defense is too poor. Once Tony Parker plays a defensive counterattack, even if Nash keeps up with the rhythm, he can't defend against Parker's fast break.

The situation was different with Ginobili, but the result was similar.

Although Battier and Josh Howard are good at defense, they are not as fast as Ginobili and cannot keep up with the fast break rhythm of defensive counterattacks.

The game continued, and with two minutes left in the final quarter, the score was 92:93, and the Spurs were leading by 1 point.

He Zhongqiu did not give his all. The Spurs are the most likely opponent in the finals, and he did not want to go all out in the regular season.

But he also used 70% to 80% of his strength, only holding back on mid-range shots, and almost all of his attacks were within the restricted area, which limited his number of shots.

Duncan scored 26 points and he scored 28 points.

But he wants to win the game, but he doesn't plan to focus on the offensive end, but on the defensive end.

He did not defend Duncan today. It was the Mailman and Varejao who did the defense. The old Mailman and the rookie could not defend Duncan, allowing Duncan to shoot 70%.

And in the last two minutes, he switched to defend Duncan.

Duncan was blocked by him and couldn't enter the restricted area. He missed his last two shots and the Knicks led by one point again.

Both teams failed in their attack again, and with 18 seconds left in the game, the Spurs attacked.

Ginobili broke through with the ball from the left wing, and after a series of twists and turns, he entered the penalty area. Facing He Zhongqiu's defense, he suddenly changed direction drastically, and his body twisted into a knot.

"brush!"

A splash and two points were scored.

"yeah!"

This was probably a near-game-winning shot. Ginobili, who had scored, seemed very excited and shouted while clenching his fist.

In the recently concluded Olympics, the Argentine team he led lost to the Chinese team led by Wolverine in the final and missed the gold medal. That will be his eternal pain, and being able to make up for it on the NBA court is a consolation.

"You can do it!"

He Zhongqiu praised it.

"94:95, the Knicks are trailing by 1 point on the road, and there are 1.9 seconds left. The Knicks called a timeout. If they miss, Ginobili's shot just now would have been a near-game-winning shot." Bill Walton said.

"Completing a near-game-winning shot over a superhero's head should be Ginobili's highlight moment," said Michael Brin.

Rick Blair arranged the final attack, with the postman serving the ball, the others running away, and He Zhongqiu receiving the ball to attack.

After the timeout, the Knicks served the ball from the frontcourt sideline.

While the others were running around, He Zhongqiu, who was in the low post on the left wing, immediately rushed to the basket with all his strength. Duncan and Rasu, one in front and one behind, prevented him from entering the restricted area.

At this moment, He Zhongqiu suddenly pulled upwards.

Nash ran from the right wing to the left wing, and after receiving the serve from the Postman, he threw it to He Zhongqiu without stopping.

He Zhongqiu received the ball at the left waist position and the time started counting.

When Duncan and Rasu pounced on him, he jumped up on the spot, turned to face the basket in the air, and when he jumped to the highest point, he threw the ball towards the backboard with his right hand.

"Bang! Swoosh!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the basketball hit the backboard and bounced into the basket.

"Beautiful! Wolverine made a 45-degree bank shot with nearly two minutes left, and the time was up. It was a buzzer-beater." Bill Walton said excitedly.

"This seems to be Wolverine's first buzzer beater. Congratulations to the superhero for making the buzzer beater! He has completed the rescue mission." Michael Brin said with a smile.

Bill Walton said: "This was the first test between the two teams, and the Knicks were the winner. From a tactical point of view, Popovich was more experienced, and after suffering a loss in the first quarter, he immediately made the right adjustments."

Michael Breen nodded and said, “Rick Carlisle did not make effective tactical adjustments afterwards, Nash played a little passively, and his efficiency decreased under Bowen’s backup defense.

But at the most critical moment, Wolverine exerted his strength on both offense and defense, confronted Duncan personally, gained the upper hand, and led the team to victory. "

Bill Walton said: "Duncan is still like Shaq, when facing Wolverine, his strength and mobility are not as good as Wolverine.

So far, this is the biggest weakness of all inside players when facing Wolverine. They are not as fast as Wolverine, and they are not as strong as him.

It's like facing a great shark in its prime. You're slower than the great shark, not as strong as the great shark, not as flexible as the great shark, and can only be eaten alive.

The current Wolverine, no, since the last finals, the Wolverine with mid-range shooting ability has become more threatening than the Shaq in his prime.

In my opinion, Wolverine has become a hybrid of Shaq and Duncan, a peak Shaq with the ability to hit the rebound and make mid-range shots. "

Michael Brin said with a shocked look on his face: "The peak Shaq without the ability to shoot mid-range is already invincible. The most dominant Shaq in history with the ability to shoot mid-range. Bill, don't scare me."

Bill Walton laughed and said, "However, in terms of dominance under the basket, the current Wolverine is not as good as the Shaq in his prime. In terms of dominance, the Shaq is still stronger.

During the three consecutive championships, the Sharks were truly invincible. No matter how many people double-teamed them, they couldn't stop him from scoring at the basket. The current Wolverine can't do that because he doesn't have that terrifying tonnage. "

Michael Breen said: "Speaking of tactics, I think Rick Carlisle was a little reserved in tactics tonight and didn't let the Wolverines defend Duncan."

Bill Walton nodded and said, "Yes, Duncan didn't go to find Wolverine either. Maybe he kept it in reserve to prepare for the future finals."

After six consecutive wins, the Knicks flew to Houston the next day. In the evening, Yao Ming booked two private rooms at Yao Restaurant.

His family of three, plus Ye Li, translator Colin, He Zhongqiu and Philip, as well as Zhang Heli and Yu Jia, made nine people at one table.

In another private room, there are some Chinese reporters who have been following him and He Zhongqiu for many years.

On the reporter's side, the atmosphere was even more lively.

It was mainly a group of reporters who followed He Zhongqiu, who kept bragging about how powerful and influential He Zhongqiu was.

Then a group of reporters who followed Yao Ming were dissatisfied, and the two sides had a heated discussion and even an argument.

"The Wolverines made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in their rookie season and won the championship in their second season. In comparison, Yao Ming's performance..."

"They are both centers, first-year rookies, and Yao Ming was the No. 1 pick, but now..."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Yao Ming is pretty good. Even when he played against O'Neal and Duncan, he played well. The same was true when he played against Wolverine. Wolverine couldn't defend Yao Ming. It was just bad luck. The Rockets' lineup is not as good as the Knicks."

"This influence is unparalleled. Zhongqiu is also a top Hollywood action star, and now he is developing into the fighting world. His influence will become greater and greater in the future."

"Don't be ridiculous, we only compete in the NBA."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. We are both the best basketball players in our country. What is there to argue about?"

After dinner, everyone else left, and He Zhongqiu and Dayao Ye Li drank tea and chatted in the private room.

He Zhongqiu asked: "Ye Li, have you retired?"

"No, I came here to treat my injuries." Ye Li shook her head.

"Her injury is quite serious," Yao Ming said.

"Then just retire and marry Yao Ming as soon as possible." He Zhongqiu said casually.

Ye Li doesn't want to retire now, but Yao Ming's family hopes that she will retire now and then get married.

Seeing that Ye Li was silent, Dayao hurriedly said, "Let her do whatever she wants. She has her own career, and we are not that old anyway."

Ye Li asked: "Zhongqiu, you said us, why don't you find a girlfriend to marry?"

"I'm not old, there's no rush," said He Zhongqiu.

Ye Li asked curiously, "There have been rumors about you and Liu Yifei in China for the past two years. Isn't she your girlfriend?"

He Zhongqiu said hurriedly: "When I met her three years ago, she was only fourteen years old, a little girl. Now she is only seventeen years old, not yet an adult. How could she be my girlfriend?"

While chatting, Yao Ming saw that He Zhongqiu was wearing a championship ring on his hand. He was so depressed. He Zhongqiu had already won the championship, FMVP, and MVP at the age of 21. How long does he have to wait?
"It's not a festival, why are you wearing this thing? Are you showing off?" He pointed at the ring and said unhappily.

He Zhongqiu laughed out loud. He did this on purpose in front of Dayao.

"You jerk!"

Yao Ming cursed angrily, and then said enviously: "Zhongqiu, you Knicks are very strong this season, winning six games in a row."

"It's not that we are strong, it's that our opponents are too weak, hehe!" He Zhongqiu smiled proudly.

"What do you think of the Heat? Can they stop you?" Yao Ming asked.

"I will defend the Big Shark alone, and the others will double-team Wade. What do you think?" He Zhongqiu asked back.

"They still have Eddie Jones, do you dare to let him go? If you dare to let him go, he will score 20+." Yao Ming said.

"It's okay. It's enough for me to score 20 points more than him per game." He Zhongqiu boasted.

Yao Ming was depressed because he felt that He Zhongqiu was not exaggerating. Didn't he average 20+ more points per game than the Shaq in the finals?
"Where are the Spurs?" he asked again.

He Zhongqiu analyzed rationally: "The Spurs are just so-so. This team has no dominance and failed to defend their titles twice.

If the Spurs were truly dominant, they would have defended their title or even won three consecutive championships. If they can’t defend their title or win three consecutive championships, they really can’t be considered dominant.”

"You really can't chat."

Yao Ming is so depressed. Look, he keeps talking about the dominance of defending the three consecutive championships. I haven't even made it past the first round yet, how can anyone respond?

"Haha..." He Zhongqiu laughed triumphantly.

Yao Ming was unconvinced and said, "Zhongqiu, from what you said, you are sure to defend the title this season?"

He Zhongqiu said frankly, "It's almost right."

Dayao said unhappily, "I think you are just bragging, be careful or you will get caught!"

"Don't worry about whether I'm bragging or not, Dayao, I haven't asked you yet, how much is your tonnage?" He Zhongqiu looked at Dayao and asked.

"140 kilograms. How about you?" Yao Ming said.

“I’m still 117.”

He Zhongqiu replied, "Dayao, your bones and muscles are far from being as strong as mine. It's easy to get injured with such a large weight, and your bones and muscles will be worn out a lot."

Yao Ming said helplessly: "Before, Tomjanovich asked me to play like Gasol, a European center, and I liked it very much.

But after Van Gundy came, he asked me to gain weight and train strength, and focus on the low post, and I couldn't refuse the team's request. "

"Who said you can't refuse? If you don't like it, let your agent talk to you. If the team doesn't agree, then trade it," said He Zhongqiu.

"Trade?" Yao Ming had never thought about this and was a little confused.

He Zhongqiu added: "Two years ago, when I first joined the Knicks, before I even played a single game, the coaching staff asked me to gain weight. They wanted me to be the next Shark, but I refused."

"You can do it!" Dayao gave a thumbs up.

Ye Li also nodded and said, "Dayao, I think Zhongqiu is right. Now that O'Neal has gone to the East, the West's interior is not that competitive. You don't need that much weight."

Yao Ming said helplessly: "No, now we not only have O'Neal, but also He Zhongqiu who is born with supernatural power. If I ask to lose weight, the team will not agree."

Hearing this, Ye Li was helpless.

He Zhongqiu advised: "Dayao, the team is not responsible for your career, but you have to be responsible for your own career."

"That's right. Besides, aren't O'Neal and Zhongqiu both in the Eastern Conference?" Ye Li agreed.

"Let me think about it." Dayao said hesitantly.

"Think about it for nothing! It's me. I'll let my agent go and talk to him now. Whether the deal is successful or not, I'll start losing weight tomorrow." He Zhongqiu said.

Yao Ming said helplessly: "I have already built up all these muscles, how can I lose weight?"

“What can’t be reduced?”

"Let me think about it."

"I can already imagine you hugging your legs and crying in the future."

"Can you say something nice?"

"As the old saying goes, honest advice hurts the ear. I've said it, and it's up to you whether you listen or not."

(End of this chapter)